Anna Smith will be competing in her first triathlon to break out of her comfort zone. And she'll be taking the memory of her mother along with her.

Nicole Coaker will be competing in her third triathlon —- after first taking up the sport to mark her 30th birthday.

Both Gwinnett County women are just about ready for next Sunday's Aflac Iron Girl Women's Triathlon at Lake Lanier.

Smith, 33, has been training since March, inspired by her mother, who died five years ago. A smoker who consumed an unhealthy diet of fried and packaged foods, Henrietta West died of lung and brain cancer at age 55.

"Before she died, I made it my life's mission to take better care of myself," said Smith, who quit her job as an economist and last July opened a personal training studio. "I wanted to do for other people what I couldn't do for my mom."

To do that, Smith said, she had to stretch herself. Smith, who had struggled with her weight until three years ago, when she weighed 185 pounds, said she's not a particularly good distance runner and she's not a good swimmer. Completing the course (a 1/3-mile swim, 18-mile bike and 3-mile run) won't be easy for Smith, who has shed 40 pounds.

The owner of Revolution Personal Training in Lawrenceville, Smith had to practice what she preaches to her clients: get outside of her comfort zone.

"I ask this of them every single day," she said. "I can take this on. I can do something as well. I'm kind of walking the walk. It's a personal challenge-type thing."

Smith's challenge got a little more difficult two weeks ago. She tweaked her back doing heavy deadlifts and hasn't been able to work out much since. That, combined with the fact that Smith is a rookie triathlete, has her unsure of how she'll do.

"On one hand, I feel like I can pull it off and blow my own self away. On the other hand, I feel like it might be a rude awakening," she said.

Nicole Coaker isn't exactly a grizzled veteran, but she's got two triathlons under her belt —- and she'll likely get a lot more. "I started last year because I needed to do something big and drastic before turning 30," she said. "And I've kind of caught the bug. It's an addictive sport."

Coaker, of Snellville, has always been athletic. She played intramural basketball, soccer, field hockey and tennis at the College of Charleston. She and her husband, John, golf, kayak and rock climb.

Coaker, the operations manager for Formetco, an outdoor billboard company, said her job has been very supportive of her athletic endeavors. She uses most of her lunch hour to swim almost daily at the Gwinnett Aquatic Center. With one week left before the race, she's running three miles a day or biking 20 miles, or sometimes a pared-down combination of the two.

Her husband, too, allows Coaker the liberty to run, bike or swim wild. "It makes me happy, so it makes life with us a little bit happier," she said.

The event, which starts at 7 a.m., is sold out with more than 730 participants expected. For more information, visit www.irongirl.com.